Control system for vehicle washing system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle washing system. The vehicle washing system includes a vehicle washing system component. Also, provided is an apparatus for moving the vehicle relative to vehicle washing system component. The speed of the relative motor of the vehicle is selected either by an operator automatically or may be varied to vary the vehicle throughput through the vehicle wash. A control unit is provided. The control unit senses the speed of movement of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle washing system. The control unit adjusts the vehicle washing system component for coordinating the vehicle washing system component in accordance with the speed of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/384,066, filed Mar. 31, 2009. This application claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/123,030, filed Apr. 4,2008. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a control system for a vehicle washingsystem. More particularly, the present invention relates to a controlsystem for a conveyor type vehicle washing or car washing line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, components used in vehicle washing lines have beenhydraulically driven. These various components include the conveyorsystem that moves a vehicle through the wash line. The hydraulic systemsof the past have also been configured to operate at a set rate or ratesof speed without any type of control mechanism for maximizing theoverall efficiency of the system. Thus, there is a need to maximize theefficiency of the system by controlling the rate of speed at which thesystem operates.

Additionally, the efficiency of the system may be improved from thestandpoint of controlling the number of resources used. Typically, thecomponents in the vehicle washing line include nozzles for applyingliquids, and chemical mixing devices for applying various chemicals inpredetermined ratios to the vehicle. Additionally, other components ofthe car wash include wheel systems for agitating and washing the sidesand tops of vehicles, and also include some type of drying system usedfor drying vehicles at the end of the conveyor line. In order for thecomponents of the car wash system to operate properly, all the washcomponents are calibrated to run based on the conveyor line moving thevehicle at a single speed. The speed of the conveyor was controlledseparately from the other vehicle wash components. The speed of vehiclethroughput could only be changed by changing conveyor speed withoutchanging the speed of the other wash components or without changing thespeed of the other components automatically. Certain wash componentsonly operate at a single speed, or are adjustable but do not have theability to compensate for the change in speed of the conveyor. In thepast, the only options that were available to the car wash operator wereoptions for turning on and off certain features individually, such asvarious cleaning features which may be used in various levels of thewash such as may be selected by the vehicle wash consumer.

Therefore, there has been a need in the art of vehicle wash systems toallow more flexibility in controlling vehicle throughput and otherfeatures of a vehicle wash line. In addition to controlling the rate ofvehicle throughput of the system, it is also desirable to control theoperating characteristics of the individual components which are part ofthe vehicle washing system. By controlling the operating characteristicssuch as equipment speed, water flow, number of drying units used, andthe mixing of wash chemicals, the overall system can be improved toreduce operating costs and maximize the use of resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a vehicle washing systemhaving one or more controlled components. The present invention alsoincludes an apparatus for moving the vehicle relative to the controlledcomponents at a rate of speed. A control unit is provided and isoperable to adjust one of the one or more controlled components and therate of speed relative to a desired vehicle throughput of the vehiclewashing system.

Additionally, the vehicle washing system includes a vehicle washingsystem component. Also provided is an apparatus for moving the vehiclerelative to vehicle washing system component. The relative speed of themotor vehicle is selected either by an operator or automatically inorder to vary the vehicle throughput through the vehicle wash. Thecontrol unit senses the speed of movement of the vehicle with respect tothe vehicle washing system. The control unit adjusts the vehicle washingsystem component for coordinating the operation of the vehicle washingsystem component in accordance with the speed of the vehicle.

Additionally, a control system for a conveyor type vehicle washingsystem is provided which includes a vehicle wash line including at leastone vehicle wash line component, and a vehicle conveyor for engaging andmoving a vehicle along the vehicle wash at a pre-selected speed. A groupof sensors are also provided which includes at least one sensor forsensing and reporting the number of vehicles waiting in line, andcontrolling the speed of the conveyor of the vehicle wash line. Acontrol unit is provided for sensing the number of vehicles in line, andselecting the speed of the conveyor in accordance with pre-selectedvalues.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle wash site plan, according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of control system for a vehicle wash systemaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of a wash line including washingcomponents, according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of a drive motor and gear trainfor driving a washing component, according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the motor in a housing for the motor asshown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is top view of a conveyor motor assembly, according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of the conveyor with the motor removed,according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

Referring now to the Figures, in accordance with the present inventionthere is provided a vehicle washing system, generally shown at 10. In abroad aspect, the present invention includes a vehicle wash systemcomponent, generally indicated 12, another wash system component whichis an apparatus 22 for moving a vehicle relative to the wash systemcomponent of 12, and a control unit 24 which controls the washing systemcomponent based on a demand 25. The demand 25 can include one or morefactors which include user input signals, sensor signals based on systemthe number of vehicles at the ingress of the wash system, a clock signalindicating the time of day, a photo sensor indicating the amount oflight outside the vehicle washing system, weather signal indicating thepresence of precipitation, a vehicle speed sensor signal, the speed ofthe apparatus 22 which can be a conveyor or sensor signals indicating aback-up of vehicles at the point of egress. However, the demand 25 isnot limited to these factors, rather demand 25 includes all factors thatwill ultimately effect the throughput of the vehicle wash system. Inresponse to the demand 25, the control unit 24 sends commands to two ormore of the components 12 of the system 10. The commands adjust thespeed or variance of the components 12 or apparatus 22. The variance canbe set between zero and one-hundred percent, depending upon the inputreceived by the control unit 24.

Typical vehicle washing system components 12 used in the present vehiclewashing system 10 include dryers 14, wheels 16, chemical applicators 18,mitters 17, and liquid delivery systems 20. Vehicle washing system 10 ofthe present invention includes an apparatus, such as a conveyor 22, formoving a vehicle relative to the vehicle washing system component 12 ata selectable and variable speed. The control unit 24 is provided whichis typically a computer or computer-controlled unit. One advantage ofthe present invention is that the control unit 24 has the ability tosense the vehicle demand 25 and adjust the operation of any of thecomponents 12 and conveyor 22 concurrently or individually based on thedemand 25.

In accordance with the present invention, the vehicle washing systemcomponent 12, whether it be a dryer 14, a wheel 16, top roller 48,mitters 17, washers or a mixer 18 for chemicals, or even a pump of aliquid or water delivery system 20, has a variable frequency driveelectric motor or proportional control device 28 that connects to a geartrain 30 for driving the component's speed or movement, this is bestseen in FIG. 4. While a variable frequency motor is described, it ispossible for the control mechanisms described herein to be used withother wash systems that do not use gears or variable frequency motors.The gear train 30 has a set gear ratio that is driven by the variablefrequency motor 28 at two or more speeds. The motor 28 and gear train 30are designed to be substantially waterproof. A housing 32 is providedwhich includes cooling slots 34 and 36 to protect yet allow circulationof air to the motor 28. A maximum and minimum speed for each componentis entered into the software for the control unit 24. In the presentembodiment of the invention, the variable frequency drive motor 28 ofeach component operates between these two speeds. When the variance ofthe system 10 is set to a certain percentage (as mentioned above,variance is set between zero and one-hundred) the control unit 24coordinates with the components 12 of the system 10 to set theappropriate speed of the variable frequency drive motor 28 for a givencomponent 12. Additionally, the control unit 24 uses the variance todetermine other factors besides speed for systems or components that donot use variable frequency motors, such as hydraulic systems, fluidvalves, etc.

The software sets the speed of each of the components 12 based on theequation for determining the rate of speed for a given component 12,which is:

$C = {{Min} + \frac{\left( {{Max} - {Min}} \right)({Variance})}{100}}$In this equation, C is the set component rate of speed measured inrotations per minute (RPM), volts, pressure, flow, or any other suitablevariable used for controlling the component 12. “Min” is the set minimumspeed that is set by the operator for that component 12. “Max” is theset maximum speed that is set by the operator for that component 12.“Variance” is the percentage of the range between Min and Max and isrelated to the demand 25 communicated to the control unit 24. By usingthe above equation for calculating the component speed, C, eachcomponent 12 can operate independent from and at different speeds thanthe other components 12 in the system 10. For example, if the varianceis at 40%, it might be more desirable to have the wheel components 16rotate at 40 RPM, which would be a different rate of speed than the toproller 48 which might rotate at 20 RPM when the variance is 40%. This ismerely an illustrative example, and it is within the scope of thisinvention to have virtually any type of configuration possible.

Additionally, the component 12 can be a pivoting washer such as thewheel washer 46. The pivoting washer of this type utilizes a pneumaticvalve that facilitates the movement of the nozzle relative to thevehicle. The valve can be a 0-10 volt DC linear proportion flow valvethat communicates with the control unit 24 using an analog to digitalconverter card. Alternatively, the valve can be a 4-20 milliamp closedloop AC valve that is controlled by the control unit 24. However, anytype of control can be used. The control unit 24 controls the amount ofpower or displacement the valve in response to the feedback from therest of the system components 12, and allows for correlating the speedof the wheel washer unit 46 with the conveyor 22.

In order to prevent damage to the components 12 of the system 10 and thevariable frequency drive motor 28, an ampere (AMP) sensor is employed inthe power line as part of one or more of the variable force motors. TheAMP sensor detects if the current to the motor 28 exceeds a certainthreshold. If the threshold is exceeded, a signal is sent to the controlunit 24, which adjusts the power delivered to the variable frequencydrive motor 28. This allows for the system 10 to minimize overloading ofthe individual components 12 that may occur as a result of variableslike vehicle size, vehicle topography, vehicle misalignment, andcomponent wear. For example, a wheel 16 can become overloaded if thewheel 16 becomes hung up on a portion of a vehicle such as a spare tire,roof rack, oversized mirror, etc. The use of the AMP sensor can detectsuch occurrences by determining if the variable frequency drive motor 28is demanding an excessive amount of current. The control unit 24 willadjust the amount of power delivered to the variable frequency drivemotor 28 when an overload signal is sent from the AMP sensor to thecontrol unit 24, or the control unit 24 could signal retraction of theunit such as a side wheel 16, or the like.

The variable frequency drive motor 28 allows the component 12 to becontrolled as to output in the form of RPM of the motor 28 which drivesthe component 12. The use of the variable frequency drive motor 28allows the control unit 24, after sensing and comparing the speed of theconveyor 22, to adjust the frequency of the motor 28 for providing apredetermined condition of washing at a conveyor speed. The control unit24 adjusts the vehicle wash line component or components 12 to meet thedesired washing conditions at a selected speed of the conveyor 22. Thisprovides the necessary wash at the greatest efficiency or at a desiredlevel of efficiency which is compatible with the vehicle speed. Forinstance, adjusting the speed of the component 12 based on correlationwith the conveyor 22 can keep a relatively constant surface feet perminute cleaning speed of a wheel, whether the line is processing fiftycars per hour, two-hundred cars per hour, or somewhere in between.Similarly, the motor speed on the dryer 14 or blower can be increased ifthe vehicle is moving through the line rapidly or decreased whenvehicles are moving slowly.

Additionally, under certain conditions, such as during slow operationtimes, it may be desirable, because of slow movement of the vehiclesthrough the wash line or under other predetermined conditions, to reducethe number of certain wash components 12 used during the wash cycle. Forinstance, in many high output installations two rows of dryer units 14may be utilized, and the control system (or control unit 24) mayselectively shutdown one or more rows of dryer units 14 or one or moreindividual dryer units 14 in each row, depending on the setup andconditions. This reduces power consumption in the vehicle washing system10.

Additionally, the control unit 24 controls other systems such as achemical mixing system or metering system 18 and water delivery systems,which include wash nozzles and drying nozzles, all to coordinate withthe speed of the vehicle to provide an effective wash with greaterefficiency. Thus, as shown at FIG. 2, the dryers 14 may be adjusted asto their speed or turned on and off by the controller, and wheels 16 inuse in the wash line may be adjusted as to their speed or turned on andoff. Chemicals may be adjusted with adjustable valves or may be adjustedby metering the flow of chemicals into the washing streams or the like.Similarly, water delivery may be adjusted for flow with the adjustablecontrol valves or turned on or off if more than one bank of waterdelivery systems are included. The control unit 24 may control one ormore of these depending on a particular condition and the desired levelof efficiency.

In another aspect of the present invention, the control unit 24 may beconnected to vehicle sensors, generally indicated at 26 in FIG. 2, whichare outside of the car wash line. The sensors 26 may be infrared, sonic,photoeye, or any other sensor suitable for sensing the presence orabsence of a vehicle or demand 25 of the system 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, vehicle sensors 26 a-26 e are provided along theexternal vehicle ingress route, generally shown at 50, and egress route,generally shown at 52. These sensors 26 are used to sense the number ofvehicles waiting in line and coordinate with the control unit 24 toadjust the speed of the conveyor 22 accordingly. In a preferredembodiment, the control unit 24 is integrated such that the speed of theconveyor 22 is adjusted and the component wash system is adjusted tocompensate for the selected speed of the conveyor 22.

In one embodiment of this control system, it is desirable to slow downthe line, for instance, if no vehicles were sensed at sensor 26 b, sothat a line continues to exist at the car wash which may prompt otherinterested customers to enter the wash line. Similarly, if the sensors26 sense the presence of a vehicle out at the sensor 26 e, near thestreet, the control unit 24 may be used to increase the speed of theconveyor 22 in order to put more cars through the vehicle wash system toreduce the line. This system allows automatic control of the vehiclewash in order to adjust for conditions encountered during lineups ofcars and cueing of cars into the system.

The control unit 24 may also adjust for the presence of vehicles at theegress route 52. Sensor 26 a can sense the presence of a vehicle that istrying to leave the wash facility. If traffic on the street is heavy,the vehicle may be stopped in front of the wash facility which can causea potential collision with vehicles coming off of the wash line. If thesensor 26 a detects a vehicle, the control unit 24 may adjust the speedof the conveyor 22 to move slower or even stop the system 10 until thevehicle detected by sensor 26 a moves out of the egress route 52. Insuch an application, adjusting the system 10 to move at a slower speedprovides the advantage of not having to use emergency stops. The use ofemergency stops increases the load on the system 10 because it wouldthen be necessary to restart the system 10 once it was no longernecessary to have the system 10 stopped.

The sensors 26 a-26 e and/or control unit 24 may also be configured tosense the time of day and adjust the system based on the time morevehicles are typically present. Additionally, the sensors 26 a-26 e canbe configured to sense the amount of ambient light and adjust the system10 based on those conditions. For example, the system 10 might runslower on cloudy rainy days because persons are less likely to get theirvehicles washed on such days.

Alternatively, the control unit 24 may control the speed of the conveyor22 without the use of the sensors 26. In an alternate embodiment, thecontrol unit 24 may adjust the speed of the conveyor 22 based on thenumber of cars waiting in line which have been input into the system 10from the operator and how many vehicles have been washed. If the numberof vehicles in line input into the system 10 exceeds a predeterminedlimit, that the speed of the conveyor 22 is raised to increase theamount of vehicles being washed.

Also, the control unit 24 may command the speed of the conveyor 22 tochange based on an amount of vehicles per hour passing through thevehicle washing system 10, instead of through the use of the sensors 26.If the control unit 24 determines the number of washes being performedby the system 10 exceeds a predetermined value, the speed of theconveyor 22 is increased to compensate.

Additionally, the control unit 24 is programmable to anticipate thedemand 25 as well. For instance, if there is a certain time of day, orcertain days of the week in which it is known that a larger number ofvehicles will pass through the system 10, the control unit 24 may beprogrammed to automatically change the speed of the conveyor 22 inanticipation of the increase in demand 25.

Although the frequency of the motor 28 is controlled by the control unit24 based on the vehicle speed, it is contemplated that other operatingcharacteristics could be measured and used instead of vehicle speed. Forexample, in certain applications it might be more advantageous tomeasure the amount of water flow outputted by the water deliverymechanisms 20, or wattage of the dryers 14, the speed of the wheels 16,or the output of the chemical mixers 18. These measured operatingcharacteristics could be used instead of or in addition to the vehiclespeed data.

In another aspect of the present invention, each component 12 in thesystem 10 has an established (or “default”) position which is stored inthe memory of the control unit 24. With particular reference to FIGS.6-7, the conveyor apparatus 22 has a drive train motor 38 which works inconjunction with a gear train 40 to drive conveyor sprocket 42. Anencoder 44, which is connected to the sprocket 42, provides the positionof the vehicle, at all times, in the wash tunnel to the control unit 24when the vehicle in the apparatus 22 leaves the work area of eachassociated component 12. When the vehicle leaves the associated workarea of a component 12, such as a mitter 17, for instance, the controlunit 24 will power down to a lower power setting, or in the alternativeturn-off, the variable frequency motor 28 for a brief period of timeuntil the next vehicle enters the work area of the mitter component 17.The powering down of the component 12 saves resources, such as power,when the associated component 12 is between vehicles and therefore notin use.

Powering down the component 12 is also more desirable than turning thecomponent 12 on and off between vehicles because the components 12 andother part of the system 10 are susceptible to damage by constantlyturning the components 12 on and off. For example, power circuits andthe variable frequency motors 28 are more susceptible to damage byconstantly turning the components 12 on and off. Additionally, waterlines and valves also are more susceptible to damage or break down as aresult of being constantly turned on and off. Thus, it is more efficientfor the system 10 to provide a way of powering down or significantlyreducing resources without a total shut-off of power.

Additionally, with reference to the mitter 17 portion of the wash system10, this component 12 has the disadvantage of making rather loudslapping noises when initially engaging and during disengagement of thevehicle. Utilizing the present invention, the control unit 24 may beused to allow the vehicle to enter into engagement with the mitter 17prior to turning on the mitter 17. This avoids or reduces theobjectionable slapping noise. Similarly, the encoder 44 in combinationwith the control unit 24 sense that the vehicle is about to enter orexit the service area of the mitter 17 and disengage the mitters 17 atappropriate times to accomplish minimizing the unwanted slapping of themitters 17 against the vehicle. The variable frequency drive motor 28 ofthe mitter 17 may be turned off or adjusted to reduce or preventobjectionable slapping.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle washing system comprising: one ormore controlled components of said vehicle washing system; an apparatusfor moving a vehicle relative to said one or more controlled componentsat a rate of speed of movement; a control unit configured to adjust andcorrelate the one or more controlled components speed or flow and saidrate of speed relative to a desired vehicle throughput of said vehiclewashing system set by an input of an operator; an encoder connected to asprocket on the apparatus which provides sensed position of the vehicleto said control unit at all times through a wash tunnel, said controlunit selectively powers down each of the one or more controlledcomponents to a lower power setting until vehicle movement along each ofthe one or more controlled components is sensed; and at least one mitterportion, said control unit controls said vehicle to enter intoengagement with said at least one mitter portion prior to powering up toa higher power setting and/or turning on said at least one mitterportion to minimize slapping noises of said at least one mitter portionagainst said vehicle.
 2. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, whereinsaid one or more controlled components include one or more of a groupconsisting of wheels, conveyor, blowers, tire sprayers, mixers, liquiddelivery systems and top rollers.
 3. The vehicle washing system of claim1, wherein said desired vehicle throughput is based on a demand thataffects the vehicle throughput of the vehicle washing system commandedby at least one user input signal.
 4. The vehicle washing system ofclaim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components include avariable frequency drive motor connected to and powering said one ormore controlled components, said control unit is operably connected toand adjusts a frequency of said variable frequency drive motor whichadjusts the power translated to said one or more controlled components.5. The vehicle washing system of claim 4, wherein said variablefrequency drive motor powers a drying blower.
 6. The vehicle washingsystem of claim 1, wherein said one or more controlled components is aplurality of said drying blowers and said control unit adjusts the powerof said plurality of drying blowers.
 7. The vehicle washing system ofclaim 1, wherein said control unit determines said rate of speed byadjusting of said one or more controlled components using the followingequation:$C = {{Min} + \frac{\left( {{Max} - {Min}} \right)({Variance})}{100}}$wherein “C” is a set component rate of speed, “Min” is a set minimumspeed that is set by an operator, “Max” is the set maximum speed that isset by the operator, and “Variance” is a percentage of a range betweenMin and Max.
 8. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said oneor more controlled components is a rotational speed controlled by saidcontrol unit.
 9. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, furthercomprising said one or more controlled components being one or morewheels, and a variable frequency drive motor operably connected to saidone or more wheels for rotating said one or more wheels, wherein saidcontrol unit varies the frequency of said variable frequency drive motorfor controlling the revolutions per minute of said one or more wheels.10. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said one or morecontrolled components comprise a plurality of wheel members whichinclude at least one variable frequency drive motor for varying therotation speed of said wheel members, said control unit being operablefor controlling the power to at least one of said plurality of wheelmembers for shutting off at least one of said plurality of wheelmembers, and said control unit being operable for controlling thefrequency of said variable frequency drive motor for varying the speedof at least one of said plurality of wheel members, or a combinationthereof, depending on the speed of said vehicle or speed of saidapparatus.
 11. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, wherein said oneor more controlled components further comprise at least one liquiddelivery system for operably contacting said vehicle with a liquidduring movement of said vehicle.
 12. The vehicle washing system of claim11, further comprising a pneumatic valve that pivots said at least oneliquid delivery system relative to said vehicle during movement, whereinsaid control unit controls the operation of said pneumatic valve. 13.The vehicle washing system of claim 12, wherein said liquid deliverysystem includes at least one nozzle, wherein the flow through saidnozzle is controlled based on said desired vehicle throughput.
 14. Thevehicle washing system of claim 13, wherein said fluid delivery systemincludes at least one pump having a variable frequency drive motor, andsaid control unit varies the output of said variable frequency drivemotor and the output of said at least one pump based on said desiredvehicle throughput.
 15. The vehicle washing system of claim 14, furthercomprising a plurality of pumps, wherein said control unit controls thepower to at least one of said plurality of pumps for shutting said powerdown based on a pre-selected condition correlated to said desiredvehicle throughput.
 16. The vehicle washing system of claim 1, whereinsaid control unit is a computer which senses vehicle movement along saidone or more controlled components of said vehicle washing system, andcontrols said one or more controlled components of said vehicle washingsystem based on the sensed speed of said vehicle or the sensed speed ofsaid apparatus relative to said vehicle.
 17. The vehicle washing systemof claim 16, wherein said apparatus of the vehicle washing system is avariable speed conveyor system having an adjustable speed, said computerbeing operable for adjusting the speed of said apparatus.
 18. Thevehicle washing system of claim 17, wherein the speed of said apparatusis set by input to said computer by said operator, and said computerautomatically controls and adjusts said rate of speed of said one ormore controlled components based on said conveyor speed.
 19. The vehiclewashing system of claim 18, further comprising sensors for sensing atleast one vehicle throughput and vehicles waiting in line and adjustingthe speed of said conveyor and at least one vehicle washing systemcomponent for correlating with the sensed speed of said vehicle.
 20. Avehicle washing system comprising: at least one vehicle washing systemcomponent; an apparatus for moving a vehicle relative to said at leastone vehicle washing system component at a selectable and variable speed;and a control unit, said control unit setting the relative speed ofmovement of said vehicle with respect to said at least one vehiclewashing system component based on an operator input and automaticallyadjusting the speed or flow of the at least one vehicle washing systemcomponent to coordinate the at least one vehicle washing systemcomponent in accordance with the desired speed of said vehicle through awash tunnel; an encoder connected to a sprocket on the apparatus whichprovides sensed position of the vehicle to said control unit at alltimes though the wash tunnel, said control unit selectively powers downthe vehicle washing system component to a lower power setting untilvehicle movement along said vehicle washing system component is sensed;and at least one mitter portion, said control unit controls said vehicleto enter into engagement with said at least one mitter portion prior topowering up to a higher power setting and/or turning on said at leastone mitter portion, and said control unit powers down to a lower powersetting and/or turns off said at least one mitter portion fordisengagement of said at least one mitter portion from said vehicleexiting a service area of said at least one mitter portion, saidengagement and disengagement minimizing slapping noises of said at leastone mitter portion against said vehicle.
 21. The vehicle washing systemof claim 20, wherein the encoder in combination with said control unitsenses that said vehicle is entering and/or exiting said service area ofsaid at least one mitter portion prior to the control unit commandingengagement and/or disengagement of said at least one mitter portion withsaid vehicle.
 22. The vehicle washing system of claim 21, wherein saidat least one mitter portion is provided with a variable frequency drivemotor such that said at least one mitter portion is selectively turnedoff/on or adjusted up/down to an appropriate speed for said minimizingof slapping noises of said at least one mitter portion against saidvehicle.